Hello, I am so sorry to hear about the attack. However, I would like to share my story about my Big Red with you. I had just purchased my first 4 pullets ever earlier this year and about 2 moths of having them a dog dug under my fence and killed 2 of my girlies and injured my Big Red who is a Red Sex-Link. She had huge gaping wounds all over her back and that dog (that now has several pellets in it's butt) almost bit off her tail as well. Her tail was the worst of all the wounds. I immediately cleaned it and packed everything with Turmeric (a cooking spice). I had no wound care supplies at this time either. I kept her inside with me until the next day after I went to the farm store. I cleaned her wounds out every day three to five times a day with a mixture of Hibiclens water and a mixture of SEA salt water. Yes, it took time, but I didn't want her dying of infection. Someone suggested I get her started on an antibiotic and I did this as well because her wounds were so severe. I would wash her with the Hibiclens and water solution first, and got some q-tips and gently scrubbed in the wounds. GENTLY though. Then I did the same routine with the sea salt water mixture. I would give her a last rinse with just warm water and dry her off and the wounds out with paper towels. I also had to keep her back and tail feathers trimmed because I didn't want them sticking in her wounds Then after she air dried for about 5 minutes I applied Blue-Kote. I bought both the spray and the doppler kind. I liked the spray better. It's one shot and less mess. However, I learned the hard way not to wear good cloths while applying the Blue-Kote because it does indeed stain clothing and skin for that matter. I treated Big Red like this for almost 2 weeks and her tail and back healed all the way up within 4 weeks. You couldn't even tell that she had been attacked. Now she is the most stubborn girl I have and is very trusting of me. I used this method because sea salt promotes healing and Hibiclens is an antimicrobial/antiseptic. A wound needs air to heal properly and I wanted her wounds to heal from the inside out and with this method they did. I didn't use any triple antibiotic or any other ointments either. I bought storage totes to do all the washing, rinsing, and air drying in as well. I had 4 total one for each step and cleaned them with vinegar water after each use. I might mention that I kept her isolated during her treatment and let her decide when she wanted to return to the backyard given that her wounds were scabbed over and healing properly. I hope this helps and reach out if you have any other questions!
I do wish you all the luck in the world. I know having a wounded bird is stressful and time consuming, but in the end it is well worth it! Good Luck!
I do wish you all the luck in the world. I know having a wounded bird is stressful and time consuming, but in the end it is well worth it! Good Luck!
